One American woman killed in Islamabad blast

ISLAMABAD: An American woman working in the US Embassy here was killed and 15 persons, including Chinese and Japanese, were injured when a powerful blast rocked a popular restaurant in the heart of the Pakistani capital on Sunday.

The explosion on the lawn outside the Luna Caprise restaurant occurred at about 8:40 pm local time, sending plumes of smoke in the air and creating a huge crater at the site.

The dead woman has been identified as Elaine, an employee of the US Embassy here, officials said.

Among those injured were three US citizens, two Japanese journalists, three Pakistanis and one Chinese, city police chief Nadeem Baloch said.

Baloch, however, ruled out a suicide attack. The place is frequented by foreigners and diplomats, and several US Embassy cars were parked outside the eatery at the time of the blast, which could be heard from several kilometres away.

The incident created panic in the city and police immediately cordoned off the area, located in the busy Super Market, as ambulances rushed to the site.

Some of the injured are being treated at Pakistan Institute of Medical Science, while many insisted on being taken directly to the US embassy.